“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”Proverbs 28:13
I’ve lived too many days of my life hiding from myself…refusing to look my failures in the eye, ignoring parts of my heart that I know need a washing of grace, refusing to speak the truth of my heart.
And I talk often of breathing out truth, but the truth is that I am broken…and before I can breathe out the truth of salvation and grace into my life, I must admit that I need salvation and grace.
And I forget that confession isn’t just a cornerstone of conversion, it’s a cornerstone of the christian life.
There are many times I’ve found myself in seasons of dryness, and there have been many reasons for those seasons. But I know several of them could have been avoided if I had allowed myself to see my sin.
Oh I knew the sin was there…
The bitterness always simmering.
The pride lurking in the shadows.
The self-righteousness hiding behind every corner.
The stubborn self-reliance hiding under a pile of nice labels.
But I stoically pull myself together and keep marching forward instead of dropping brokenly at the feet of my Savior.
Because admitting fault is painful.
Because asking forgiveness is hard.
Because even confessing guilt to yourself can crumble you to pieces.
And I can breathe in the truth of God’s Word all I want, but if I won’t breathe out the confession of needing that truth then the truth will blow through me like a hot wind…drying and hardening my soul.
It’s almost physically painful, to pick up a pen and to write out to God the ugliness I find in my own heart. Then to look back at the words of confession I’ve written and to recognize them as truth is almost impossible to force myself to do.
But when I am willing to be broken over my sin, the truth of God Word becomes a gentle breeze to my parched soul. As soon as I’m willing to see my need in all it’s reality, I can breathe in truth and that truth will become life and freedom.
Because until I confess my sin, it’s nearly impossible to forsake it.
Because how do you stop sinning when you don’t think, or refuse to admit, that you are sinning? Because is it possible to have a change of heart if you don’t admit your heart needs changing?
Let’s live in the cycle of freedom this week.
First breathing out the truth of our need.
Then breathing in the truth of grace.
Then breathing out the life and freedom found in Jesus.
Be blessed
<3
